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2025 starts with devastating California wildfires.

It's putting a strain on resources out there, but is there a ripple effect in the cities?

It could be the costliest natural disaster to ever hit California.

The wildfires burning in parts of Los Angeles are not only taxing crews trying to put out the flames and agencies trying to provide immediate relief, but also groups across the country trying to give Californians help while also making sure our area is safe and secure.

We talked with Trish Burnett, the executive director of the American Red cross, out of the Quad Cities.

The enormity of the California wildfires is really hard to put into perspective.

What is the impact locally of something as massive as that fire is on the West Coast?

Well, from our organizational standpoint, it impacts all of us because we need to be there front line, taking care of the people.

You know, we have, from unhoused to affluent being impacted.

So different challenges, different ways we can assist.

We also are sending volunteers from our local area to make sure that we can fully staff that, because there's so many different disasters happening across the country, even right now.

Well, in California, seeing wildfires almost every year, perhaps not to this impact, but but significant losses are being seen.

You've already dealt with hurricanes, especially in North Carolina.

But, you know, Florida and the whole East Coast.

It's not getting better.

It's not it's not it's escalating rapidly.

And there's so many other pieces that impact that, too, with housing shortages, food deserts, health care needs.

I mean, in that recovery process, people are challenged to find the resources they need, and we're challenged to make sure we're working with the right partners and able to gather what they need in that moment.

So we are seeing a huge influx in number of disasters, length of disasters and just the impact from disasters.

So it is impacting our organization in a huge way.

California wildfires are top of mind for so many people and that's when the giving occurs.

That's when the, the resources seem to be, mobilized.

But then the days and weeks go right and it loses the headlines and you forget, that tell me a little bit.

As long as we're talking about that issue, about the hurricane.

On the East Coast in North Carolina, because that's no longer the headline, right?

North Carolina and Florida, both because there was a lot of tornado and hurricane damage in Florida also.

But we are still very much especially in North Carolina.

We've got volunteers there still.

We're doing casework.

We're helping people find housing.

So yeah, after the headlines leave, the Red cross and other agencies are still very much active and involved in those communities because they still have a long road ahead of them.

And that has to continue to make sure that those people have a chance to recover.

So what we're finding with the Red cross and with many organizations is we really have to be careful how we're allocating people and resources because you don't know what's next.

And it's more and more happening and well, and we're talking about the Red cross, a lot of people think, oh, it's the feeding stations or it's, quick shelter in place, but there is a lot of work as far as a mental health and counseling is concerned, because this is so traumatic for people.

And you go to a disaster, disaster, disaster.

You know the trauma.

You know how best to to help, right?

That mental health piece has just escalated really.

You know, it's been a part of our work for many years, but especially post-Covid.

We're just seeing people of kind of things have stacked up in life.

And when you look at especially like a Florida and California where they've had repeated major disasters, those are taking the toll on people.

And our mental health volunteers are licensed mental health workers, and they go in and really work with the community and the people impacted directly and indirectly, to make sure that we're recognizing and getting assistance to those people because people are struggling and financial impact, physical impact, all those things.

But sometimes that mental health piece becomes the most important piece.

There is disaster fatigue, I would assume, going on.

And whether it is, the people who are directly involved, or if it's the fundraising efforts or if it's these counseling and therapists that that are, at that site, walk me through each of those.

Let's start with fundraising.

It's got to be more and more difficult to be asking for funds because people are going, I just gave to the hurricane or I just gave to some fires elsewhere.

Yeah, that's very true.

Donor fatigue is is very much a problem for, all these events happening and what we, you know, people can designate to help with a specific event.

But what we really encourage them to do is donate to the disaster fund, and then let us kind of allocate the money as it's needed.

Because as we've had floods right here, we haven't been able to fundraise enough locally to cover sometimes those needs.

So we rely on that disaster fund to help when we need it here.

And that's what that fund is for, to be able to to allocate money around the country where it's needed.

So that's really a great way for people to be able to say, you know, I'm going to give this gift to that fund and then let the people that are really doing the work figure out where it best would be utilized.

And what about the fatigue for your workers, for you, for both your volunteers and your staff?

Right.

I worry about that a lot, because what you'll find with volunteers especially, is they're so dedicated and it's so important to them to be there early on on the front line, helping people that sometimes they we have to keep reminding them to take good care of themselves.

And it does wear on you.

I mean, I was in Florida this, this fall for two weeks with the hurricane, and I really felt it when I got back home.

I mean, it just was it's really a dramatic change to go from that frontline disaster to coming home and realizing just how how wonderful your own life is, maybe.

And and it's something we're consciously really dealing with, with our volunteers to make sure they're taking care of themselves and their families while they're gone, because that's a big ask for the families.

If you leave for 2 or 3 weeks to go help somebody and suddenly your family's down one player, that's important, too.

So walk me through that process.

Is that when you do have a disaster, a localized disaster, but you have national people coming in, is it something that you request?

Is it something that there's a database that they go to and they cherry pick who they need?

We have volunteers across the country that are trained because sheltering is a specific skill.

You have to know how to have security, how to have it set up so that it's health and hygiene are first and foremost.

So we have people that maybe are trained to specifically do the sheltering, to specifically do feeding.

And then when we have a disaster as it goes up, we scale up and we request put in request for feeding, health, mental health, whatever the needs are for each disaster, we're able to go in and say, we need 12 of these and ten of these.

And, you know, we're very scalable.

That's what I love about the Red cross.

We're a local organization with national resources, so when we need help, we can raise that flag and say, hey, can you come to the Quad Cities?

Or, hey, can we go to California?

But I always, always try to follow the ERV, the emergency response vehicle.

Yes.

Which is that that that panel truck that is so, well known for the Red cross is this is the Quad City ERV on the move.

It has not been deployed yet.

We just got it back after being down in North Carolina and Florida for an extended period of time.

So it is back now.

I wouldn't be surprised to see it be deployed to California, but it hasn't been requested yet.

Let's talk about some of the problems that are happening locally.

What were the biggest challenges for 2024 for the local Red cross?

You know, I think again, just the the uncertainty of, our weather in that we're seeing things like ratios and things that we maybe haven't experienced here before to that degree, a lot of, heavy storms and things that impacted, you know, trees down roofs, people were impacted by a lot of weather related things, plus all the home fires this year, too.

So that is a big problem, especially during the winter, is the localized home fires.

And the Red cross is always there very quickly.

Is this winter more difficult than last winter, or is it just a typical winter where you have way too many home fires?

You know, it's hard to say whether it's typical or not, but what we do continue to see is that impact of not available housing, not available resources, always for things that, that impacts the recovery process more than anything.

Because if you have a household of 6 or 8 people that suddenly has nowhere to go, there is a limited amount of housing in this market, especially entry level housing.

So, you know, some of those challenges I feel have escalated for us in recent years.

And have we seen more of them?

I mean, does it seem like, there's more house fires now?

Again, I haven't really looked at number the number.

It's every year it seems like there's more, but we have also this year had a number of fatalities.

And I think that's hit our community hard to sound.

The alarm I know is so important for the Red cross, and it's a preventative way to make sure that at least lives aren't lost if a fire breaks out.

Exactly how is that progress?

And that's in cooperation with fire departments throughout the areas.

And, we do we partner year round with fire departments to install free home, smoke free smoke alarms for homes.

We also have a couple big events coming up in March, one here in the Quad Cities.

And I think, you know, the piece about the smoke alarm install is so important.

But I think what also happens is you and I or other people that have them at home, it reminds us again to sit down with our family and say, do we have our plan?

How, you know, how do we get out of the house if this goes off at 2 a.m., you have two minutes or less on average to get out of your home.

Think about that if you're totally asleep.

And I mean, it takes me a good minute just to get my senses.

If somebody wakes me up.

So really talking through that plan and mapping it out with your family, where do we meet outside.

You know, lives are lost when somebody goes back in looking for somebody that may have already gotten out.

So it's important to have that meeting place and to just have that plan.

Well, and as I've talked to firefighters over and over again, is how often they find children huddled in a, closet or hiding under a bed.

I mean, that discussion is so critically important for families.

It is.

And, you know, I always tell people you spend time planning your holiday meal or your family reunion.

Do you spend that much time talking about how you would save the lives of those you love the most?

It's not a tough conversation.

Red cross.org.

We have lots of resources on how to age appropriate.

Talk to your children about it so you're you're preparing them, but not fighting to the point that they, you know, are upset by it.

But to really help them understand, if you hear this, this is what you do and practice it, I mean, that's the best way.

If you practiced it a few times and they get it, then when they hear that, they're going to know what to do.

Yeah, but we have the CPR program, which is the first certification and there is a fee for that.

But what we also have and we can do this free for any group, any neighborhood association, whatever is hands only CPR.

And many people are more comfortable with that because you're not using the breathing, you're just doing the compressions.

And they found that really that is what most people can and will do in the case of an emergency.

So I would encourage people to reach out to us if they're interested in scheduling a hands only CPR class, too, and the babysitting classes as well.

Yeah, babysitting classes now are online, so which is great because it gives access to everybody.

And then we also have all our water safety classes, which I think sitting on the Mississippi River is really an important one for our community.

And those we do at the Wise and other local, pools, those are available.

So it's just important, again, to make sure that you're keeping the people you love the most as safe as they can be, as you mentioned.

I mean, or as I mentioned, I should say, is that some of these disasters leave the headlines and the money's not there.

What do you tell people as far as fundraising is concerned, as we're dealing with the California wildfires, but also still mopping up the North Carolina, as you said, the Florida, hurricane and tornadoes.

And we always need donations and the Red cross.

We don't take the clothing in those items.

That's not the services we provide because we do the sheltering, feeding, health and mental health.

So the donations go to provide those immediate services to families.

But we can connect you with agencies that collect the items.

But the other thing I would encourage people, if you're not able to do a financial donation, we always need volunteers and donating your time is just as valuable.

So if you can make a donation at Red cross.org, we would appreciate that greatly.

Or you can find volunteer information there or you can donate blood.

Any of those ways help our organization which helps those that need it most.

Trish Burnett, the executive director of the American Red cross, serving the Quad Cities and west central Illinois.

Here are some great ideas that'll get you to enjoy the outdoors as well as indoor events in our area.

Thanks to visit Quad Cities.

Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Start off with learning how to play hockey at the River's Edge on January 20th.

Then you can try out a music trivia night at Common Court in the Redstone Room on January 24th.

Also on January 24th, there's a free trivia night at the Front Street Brewery and Tap Room.

Next, check out the Frozen Fat Fondo Bike Race starting at Credit Island Lodge on January 25th, and finally attend an antifreeze outdoor cocktail party at the Mississippi River Distilling Company in North Clare on January 25th.

For more events like these, check out our events calendar at visit Quad cities.com.

On Monday, January 20th, the Martin Luther King Junior Center in Rock Island will hold its 42nd annual MLK Memorial and Award ceremony.

It's an event that honors Doctor King, but also rejoices in what the MLK center provides the community while honoring people, making a real difference in our neighborhoods.

And joining us is the executive director of the Martin Luther King Center, Jerry Jones.

It is an annual occurrence with the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial and the awards ceremony, and this year's no different.

Tell me a bit about your keynote speaker, because what an amazing gift you got.

Yeah.

So this is our 50th year of service in the community as an organization, and our 42nd, service for Doctor King.

And so we wanted to do something really special.

So we went looking out there for different types of people.

And considering it's on January 20th, which is Inauguration Day, it's really challenging to find someone.

But, someone suggested Miss Minnijean Brown.

Tricky, and it was a no brainer.

Her presence at this event is just so perfectly aligned and just says to me that their power is that at will, they're saying we want this to be a truly special event.

I had the opportunity just to talk with her virtually, last week.

And the amount of humility and yet passion that exists and that woman is going to reverberate through this crowd and her story and her activism.

It's going to be a galvanizing moment for our citizenry and especially our children, because she really wants to reach out to them with her remarks.

For those who don't know, she was part of the little Rock nine.

Yeah.

Literally changing history.

Tell me a little bit about her background and how important it is for the generations who don't necessarily remember segregation in 1950s.

Right.

So she's an amazing story because she was around a middle school or high school age when the historic Brown versus education case came about, and it required integrating of our schools.

And she was one of those people that was an advocate for that at that age.

So that meant going from her school, which were all black, and integrating into a school that was all white and not being welcomed at all in any shape or form.

That's putting it kindly.

It is, I mean, to face violence, to hate, to face hate not just towards yourself, but towards your peers and your families, and to have such courage, such bravery such that, that and that steadfastness.

To do so at such a young age is truly amazing.

And now we don't see that necessarily today in the same form, because these forms of segregation or racism or hate are just not nearly as overt.

Plus, our youth today, they have the the benefit of being, I would say, actually distracted about the amount of information, misinformation that they just consume on a daily basis.

I would say it'd be truly difficult to be focused on these things, but there is appetite.

I have some young kids, but we've had the opportunity to continue to work with young kids who want to make a change, who want to be impactful, and making our community a better place in which to live.

And so her story, the Just the bravery, in the face of such overt hatred should serve as a moment to energize them, to give them some history.

They give them a platform to stand on, to give them aspiration and to make a change in our community.

So I'm excited about that aspect.

I would think that would be so critically important because I think of, her story being even a little before my generation, but mostly my generation, before your generation as well.

But there's these two generations, you know, we're Gen X or whatever you want to call them.

I can't keep up that they they they it's a visceral feeling that she has that you have as well and that I have that they don't have.

I think this will bring it out.

And, I think that, like I said, I think they're distracted by things and I think they have to numb themselves to a certain extent.

I can't imagine the amount of things that they are seeing on a daily basis, what they're exposed to just through social media, through their telephones and whatnot.

These are things I would never even dreamed of at their age.

But again, I have to say, when we bring the most important issues to the fore and provide them guidance on the best ways to go about making change, there's energy, there's passion, there's dedication, or at least the desire to be dedicated to a cause, to hear someone who has dealt with these issues in such a fashion at an age that was younger to them.

Motivation, I think, for these kids and an opportunity to fulfill, to feed that appetite, that I do think that's just an asset in all of us.

And ready to be seen these days with our kids.

Tell me also about the, the award ceremony, because it's a chance for the MLK center to really say we're blessed with somebody in our community that's making a change.

Absolutely.

So this is one of my favorite parts of the the event, because it truly honors Doctor King, who believed that we should be at our utmost, to be to to embrace excellence at this top form.

And so some of the honors we're providing are there's going to be two scholarships given to high school students.

One is the MBL Lockhart Scholarship, which is named after the first director of the Martin Luther King Center.

And his daughter will be there to present it.

And it's going to a young person who has actually worked in our program, been in our program.

And before her, her mother was part of the program, and they're going on to become a nurse.

And what's really gratifying is that Blackhawk College is providing a two year scholarship as well.

In addition to MBL, Lockhart scholarship, and they've been doing this for probably oh, gosh, I can't be going on 20 years with us.

No need for them to.

They've had no need to be, for this to receive a lot of accolades, a lot of attention.

But they keep doing it and it's going to the sister of the other person of the other scholarship to go on and pursue the same type of career.

And so we're really excited to be able to provide that honor and share with the community the type of excellence that goes on on a daily basis.

And our community reminds us of what we're capable of.

Reminds us of our potential.

You were saying, as you said, it's the 50th year of the MLK center.

I mean, that's quite a milestone.

Yeah.

It it has been, you know, just a keystone now in that neighborhood, but also for the entire community.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know what's interesting about the King Center is that it was a city department of Rock Island first.

The city had vision back then that they wanted a resource that will stand the test of time.

And so they created this department and planning with other citizens in Rock Island.

It was a 1975 that March 22nd, 1975, that we opened as a one stop shop for social services and the most distressed part of Rock Island.

And it was a State Department.

It was not until 1977 we became a nonprofit so we could begin expanding and being really responsive to the needs of the community and also grow and flourish.

The vision of the City Council back then has held true.

It was not that long ago that we had a program or an organization that was maybe 6 or 7 full time employees, and today we are at 16 and continuing to grow and engage in activities that are truly, inclusive of our community.

We're not just growing as far as numbers of people, but our impact and our reach.

So I'm really excited about the fact we made it 50 years, but we have a true reason to think that we'll go 50 years beyond and beyond that.

So yeah.

Exciting.

Well, and one of the big initiatives that's going on, and we're starting year two of the three year initiative, for the West End revitalization plan.

And walk me through that, because when you hear of a revitalization plan, you often just think of buildings or infrastructure or we're going to have better streets or better lighting or landscaping.

This really also gets to the root of people being able to manage their money better, people being able to get jobs and work, and people are able to prosper.

You know, in an area of the community.

Right?

So when we engaged in this type of work, it came from a potential investor who wanted us to make an impact in the community but have a real impact, not just like you said, buildings or infrastructure.

In fact, they asked us, hey, I'm if you want to make a impact, have you talked to people about that and the people that live there?

And we unfortunately at that point say, you know what?

We are so used to doing things way we have not asked us all, but when we did, the whole community came and they created this plan.

And there are more aspects.

Yes, housing is very important because we need safe and affordable housing in a western Rock island.

Infrastructure.

We should have, viable services, plus a place that we can be proud of to live in.

But it's more than that.

It's civic capital or community engagement.

People being able to have real influence on the decision making in that area of Rock Island, and I view that as almost the most important part of it, and it was exemplified through this whole process.

We were very worried about two things.

Can we get people engaged in the process and will they trust us?

Turns out those are the two things I need to worry about the least.

Really?

They lent their trust during Covid to to assess our needs in that community without any sort of encouragement.

They came to the meetings.

In fact, in creating our three year plan, we needed the citizens of Rock Island to be a part of that, and we asked them to meet monthly and they came back to us a great.

But you know what?

We need to meet twice a month because we want to hit this deadline.

We want a plan out there and we want it done well.

And so they did March 22nd of last year.

Yes, it coincided with the beginning of the King Center.

We came together and there were 50, 70 people that came to celebrate the culmination of a three year beginning plan.

And thus far, we have begun to lay the foundation for some real growth.

We have strong staff in place, and we're engaged in the community in a variety of different ways that will see some fruits of that labor in the coming year.

So yes, things are growing.

Things are moving not nearly as quickly as I would like to because I'm incredibly impatient.

But there is real growth, and I think we're going to see some real, things to celebrate by the end of, by the end of this year.

Yeah.

And this particular program, to the best of my knowledge, is the revitalization plan is three years with the possibility for it to be expanded, and hopefully like five years.

Does it seem like it's snowballing in that direction?

Yes.

The support we're receiving is amazing.

The funding supports phenomenal.

We received a transformation grant from the quasi community foundation that's helping us lay foundation, and we've had other support since then, and we expect there to be more because, yes, this is a 3 to 5 year plan.

But we view this Western revitalization as a process that will continue and be a part of how we provide services for the foreseeable future.

And so it will be integrated, how we do things and all the programs in the work that we do will be engaged in the community to determine what are the answers to our biggest challenges, our biggest problems, what are our successes?

How do we celebrate?

And making sure that people understand these things so that they can remain engaged, and we can see this area and beyond flourish and thrive?

When Minnijean Brown Trickey is here as your keynote speaker from the little Rock nine, and you tell her what's going on at project now and what's going on with the West End revitalization, what do you think that's going to say to her?

So many?

Jean is an incredible woman.

She already knows.

And she said to me that she's honored to come visit us and is humbled to be here because of the type of work that we're doing.

This is the sort of thing that she believes is the catalyst for true change, and not just this community, but far and beyond.

So I have a woman on the phone with me extolling the greatness of our organization while I am complete, complete of all the things she's accomplished, I think that's going to be seen quite easily when she provides her remarks to our community.

And I do want to invite our entire community to come.

This is not a Rock Island event.

This is not people who who have been served by the King Center event.

This is a Quad City event.

And this Minnijean Brown Trickey, she wants to talk to people.

And this is not going to be just a speech.

This is an opportunity to ask her questions, to get her viewpoints on things, and to receive some really inspiring words as well.

And once again, your best pitch.

It's coming up.

January 20th is coming up.

January 20th is at 1030 at the Martin Luther King Center.

We have a beautiful facility.

It will also be live streamed, but I'm going to tell you it is best experienced live and in person, especially since the incredible Westbrook singers are reuniting to provide two numbers at that event.

There's nothing more impactful than being live in person for such incredible voices.

Our thanks to the executive director of the Martin Luther King Center in Rock Island and Jerry Jones, and you can get more information on the activities at the King Center by going to its website, MLK center.org on the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device, and streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us.

As we talk about the issues on the city's.

At IHMVCU, we've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial health and we are here IHMVCU is a proud supporter of Wqpt.

Public affairs programing on Wqpt is brought to you by the Singh Group at Merrill, serving the wealth management needs of clients in the region for over 35 years.